Now in a welcome and significant intervention the Prime Minister will tomorrow outline plans to prevent new migrants jumping the queue and getting a council house over British families. It is part of a package of proposals designed to remove the “pull factors” that have led many Britons to fear an influx of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania next year.

For too long voters have been ignored or belittled for expressing fears about unchecked immigration pushing stretched public services to breaking point.

The Conservatives have cut net immigration by a third but must now redouble efforts to reduce the annual total to “tens of thousands”.

Britain is not an unwelcoming country but it is a very crowded one. With projections of our population topping 70 million within 15 years the immigration debate is no longer about race, it’s about space.